November 17, 2017

FDA Approves Sixth United States Biosimilar

Recently, the FDA announced that it approved Boehringer Ingelheim’s Cyltezo (adalimumab-adbm), the second biosimilar to AbbVie’s blockbuster Humira and sixth biosimilar in the United States. “Cyltezo is the first biosimilar from Boehringer Ingelheim to be approved by the FDA and marks an important step towards our goal of providing new and more affordable treatment options to healthcare providers and patients,” said Ivan Blanarik, Senior Vice President and Head of Therapeutic Area Biosimilars at Boehringer Ingelheim. “Chronic inflammatory diseases collectively affect 23.5 million people in the U.S., and Cyltezo has the potential to deliver significant benefits to many of these individuals.”

A biosimilar is a drug that has been demonstrated to be "highly similar" to the already-approved reference product. "The biosimilar also must be shown to have no clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety and effectiveness from the reference product. Only minor differences in clinically inactive components are allowable in biosimilar products," FDA explains.

Future Biosimilar Predictions

As reported by Regulatory Focus, Bernstein biotech analyst Ronny Gal told investors in a note that adoption of biosimilars in the EU “continues to surprise to the upside” as member states have increased their adoption.

“Prices are lower (say ~50% discount of pre-biosimilar entry) and the commercial model is supported by very light marketing requirements. Further, the number of late-stage competitors in key markets (Enbrel, Epogen, and Remicade) is only 3-4, suggesting continuation of profitability. The big upcoming test is the adoption of the oncology products (Rituxan launched and Herceptin expected). Neulasta will presumably launch in 2018 and will do very well in the EU markets,” Gal wrote, according to Regulatory Focus.

For the US marketplace, Gal points to “two key speed bumps”: Approvals of Epogen and Neulasta have been delayed for a year and the Remicade biosimilars approved in April 2016 and last April have “failed to gain traction, exposing some weaknesses in the US market when it comes to encouraging biosimilars and casting doubt on the market,” though he expects this to change in the next 12 months. In terms of other predictions, Gal said Epogen and Neulasta biosimilars will launch in the US though he expects “relatively weak adoption” before the end of 2018.